Video is a great way to further support your volunteers, and your computer
probably already has all of the tools you need to make a video, or to engage
in a live video conversation with others. The majority of computers sold
today come with built in microphones and cameras, as well as the software
you need to make a video -- and even older computers can view most video
platforms. However, for live event / web conferencing software, you will
need a newer computer and a consistent, fast Internet connection.

Video isn't something to use only with online volunteers or remote
volunteers (those providing onsite service at a different location than
yours). It's also a tool you can use with new and current volunteers that
will work onsite. And, in addition to an organization producing videos for
volunteers, it can also work the other way around: volunteers can produce
videos for organizations.

Why Video?

Video is a tool with obvious benefits for working with online volunteers
or remote volunteers (those providing onsite service at a different
location than yours). But video is also a terrific for reaching any
volunteers you don't regularly supervise and interact with face-to-face.
It's also a way to connect with new volunteers who might not be able to
come to your office during regular business hours, but would be happy to
meet via video conferencing during those hours.

Some people have trouble thinking of someone on the other end of a phone
line or an email address as "real." Video puts a face, a voice and
expressions to a person. Video takes the argument away from those who say,
"I just can't work with someone I don't see."

Short Recorded Videos

Short video presentations, produced on a desktop or laptop computer, can
be used in various ways with volunteers:

A video can feature your executive director, the volunteer manager or
another volunteer:

welcoming new volunteers to the organization

reinforcing a recommended practice, policy or procedure among
current volunteers

thanking volunteers for recent service

providing basic training about some activity volunteers will
undertake

announcing an event or change to volunteers in a more personal
way than just an email

You can ask volunteers to submit their own video clips of themselves
in action, taken on their cell phones or digital cameras, and you can
splice these short clips together into one video that shows how
volunteers make a difference at your organization, the fun they have,
the diversity they represent, etc. This type of video production can be
done easily on a variety of computers sold now.

You can ask volunteers to provide their own training videos, to help
support other volunteers or to help build the capacity of staff at an
organization.

With free online sites like YouTube, you can easily create a space to host
such videos, for free, without bothering your organization's web master.

For a video presentation, you should write a script, and the person who
will speak needs to rehearse the script in its entirety. You need to
record the presentation more than once, and watch it at least once,
beginning to end, to ensure that all of the audio is clear, that the
visual is appropriate, and that, altogether, it makes sense and is
compelling enough to watch. You also need to keep the presentation
short. Most people are not going to sit in front of their computers
watching a video presentation for longer than 15 minutes.

Live Video

In addition, you can interact with volunteers via live video. This can
be a two-way conversation, with people at two different sites talking to
each other, or a one-to-many one-way conversation, with one person being
broadcast via video to others, who participate by watching and submitting
their questions or comments for the presenter by instant messaging, which
the presenter can answer in real-time.

The key to such a live event is to have a concrete reason for the event,
and expressing this reason clearly and effectively to potential
participants. What do you want the volunteers to value about such a
real-time encounter? What do you want to happen as a result of a real-time
encounter?

It's a good idea test such a broadcast well in advanced, to ensure that
the volunteers you want to reach know what they need to do to watch the
live presentation, and to ensure the presenter can be heard.

There are a range of free tools that allow you to have a two-way (or
more) video conversation. Here are ones I have used:

Put a notice in your newsletter to current volunteers or make an
announcement at your next volunteer meeting asking for help in putting
together a short video presentation or creating a live video event. You
may already have volunteers who know how to do this -- or they may have
family members who can help. You can also put requests for assistance on
your organization's web site or on the usual volunteer recruitment places,
such as VolunteerMatch, Idealist,
CraigsList, etc.

How Easy Is It Really?

You can check out my
YouTube channel (which a friend has dubbed Jayne 2.0) and
see my own homemade nine-minute video that discusses this subject further.
It took me an hour to write and refine the script, about an hour to figure
out how my new video editing software worked (I just upgraded
my computer, but just 30 minutes to record the video three times and
chose one of the takes to use. I purposely kept it simple -- just one
special effect -- to show you just how easy such a video can be to
produce. Truly, if I can do it, anyone can. There are other videos there
as well.

With all this said, you still have to produce text-based information for
your volunteers. The reason is that, to do otherwise will leave a lot of
people out. There are also people who don't have the computer technology
or the best internet connection required to download videos or view them
online. In addition, someone who is hearing impaired wouldn't be able to
access information that's produced for a hearing audience. You also need
to keep in mind that not all volunteers speak well, and they may not come
off very well on video. Some volunteers may be very self-conscious about
the way they look. One of the nice things about online volunteering that's
done entirely text-based is that it removes a lot of opportunities for
prejudice because of a person's ethnicity, their weight, their facial
features, etc.

So don't make video interactions or video production a requirement --
it's not appropriate for everyone, and it's not appropriate for every
situation.

Final Thoughts

What I'm talking about doesn't require much investment on your part, out
side of time: time to learn how to use the technology and, then,
time to learn to actually use it.

Disclaimer: No guarantee of
accuracy or suitability is made by the poster/distributor. This material
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